• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.299-307
• /
• 2019

Photocatalysis is an environment friendly technique for degrading organic dyes in water. Tungsten oxide is becoming an active area of research in photocatalysis nanomaterials for having a smaller bandgap than the previously favored titanium dioxide. Synthesis of hierarchical structures, doping platinum (Pt), coupling with nanocomposites or other semiconductors are investigated as valid methods of improving the photocatalytic degradation efficiency. These impact the reaction by creating a redshift in the wavelength of light used, effecting charge transfer, and the formation/recombination of electron-hole pairs. Each of the methods mentioned above are investigated in terms of synthesis and photocatalytic efficiency, with the simplest being modification on the morphology of tungsten oxide, since it does not need synthesis of other materials, and the most efficient in photocatalytic degradation being complex coupling of metal oxides and carbon composites. The photocatalysis technology can be incorporated with water purification membrane by modularization process and applied to advanced water treatment system.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.285-292
• /
• 2022

Adsorption tower systems based on activated carbon adsorption towers have mainly been employed to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major cause of air pollution. However, the activated carbon currently used in these systems has a short lifespan and thus requires frequent replacement. An approach to overcome this shortcoming could be to develop metal oxide photocatalysis-activated carbon composites capable of degrading VOCs by simultaneously utilizing photocatalytic activation and powerful adsorption by activated carbon. TiO₂ has primarily been used as a metal oxide photocatalyst, but it has low economic efficiency due to its high cost. In this study, ZnO particles were synthesized as a photocatalyst due to their relatively low cost. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were deposited on the ZnO surface to compensate for the photocatalytic deactivation that arises from the wide band gap of ZnO. A microfluidic process was used to synthesize ZnO particles and Ag NPs in separate reactors and the solutions were continuously supplied with a pack bed reactor loaded with activated carbon powder. This microfluidic-assisted pack bed reactor efficiently prepared a Ag-ZnO-activated carbon composite for VOC removal. Analysis confirmed that Ag-ZnO photocatalytic particles were successfully deposited on the surface of the activated carbon. Conducting a toluene gasbag test and adsorption breakpoint test demonstrated that the composite had a more efficient removal performance than pure activated carbon. The process proposed in this study efficiently produces photocatalysis-activated carbon composites and may offer the potential for scalable production of VOC removal composites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.08a
• /
• pp.317.2-317.2
• /
• 2013

Ultrathin oxide encapsulated metal-oxide hybrid nanocatalysts have been fabricated by a soft chemical and facile route. First, SiO2 nanoparticles of 25~30 nm size have been synthesized by modified Stobber's method followed by amine functionalization. Metal nanoparticles (Ru, Rh, Pt) capped with polymer/citrate have been deposited on functionalized SiO2 and finally an ultrathin layer of TiO2 coated on surface which prevents sintering and provides high thermal stability while maximizing the metal-oxide interface for higher catalytic activity. TEM studies confirmed that 2.5 nm sized metal nanoparticles are well dispersed and distributed throughout the surface of 25 nm SiO2 nanoparticles with a 3-4 nm TiO2 ultrathin layer. The metal nanoparticles are still well exposed to outer surface, being enabled for surface characterization and catalytic activity. Even after calcination at $600^{\circ}C$, the structure and morphology of hybrid nanocatalysts remain intact confirm the high thermal stability. XPS spectra of hybrid nanocatalyst suggest the metallic states as well as their corresponding oxide states. The catalytic activity has been evaluated for high temperature CO oxidation reaction as well as photocatalytic H2 generation under solar simulation. The design of hybrid structure, high thermal stability, and better exposure of metal active sites are the key parameters for the high catalytic activity. The maximization of metal-TiO2 interface interaction has the great role in photocatalytic H2 production.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2010

This is an overview paper reporting our most recent work on processing and microstructure of nano-structured oxides and their photoluminescence and photo-catalysis properties. Zinc oxide and related transition metal oxides such as vanadium pentoxide and titanium dioxide were produced by a combination of magnetron sputtering, hydrothermal growth and atmosphere controlled heat treatment. Special morphology and microstructure were created including nanorods arrays, core-brushes, nano-lollipops and multilayers with very large surface area. These structures showed special properties such as much enhanced photoluminescence and chemical reactivity. The photo-catalytic properties have also been promoted significantly. It is believed that two factors contributed to the high reactivity: the large surface area and the interaction between different oxides. The transition metal oxides with different band gaps have much enhanced photoluminescence under laser stimulation. Use of these complex oxide structures as electrodes can also improve the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. The mixed oxide complex may provide a promising way to high-efficiency photo emitting materials and photo-catalysts.

• Particle and aerosol research
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.29-35
• /
• 2010

Transition metals such as V, Fe, and Ni were used to synthesize doped zinc oxide nanoparticles from mixed liquid precursors by using the flame spray pyrolysis (FSP). The effects of dopants on the powder properties such as morphology, specific surface area, crystal structure, and light adsorption were analyzed by TEM, BET, XRD, and UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectrum (DRS), respectively. The results showed that hexagonal wurtzite structured ZnO:M (M = V, Fe, Ni) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by the FSP. The transition metal-doping resulted in the decrease in its particle size and crystallite size. The UV-vis absorption spectra of ZnO:M nanoparticles were also red-shifted. ZnO:V showed the highest MB degradation of 99.4% under the UV irradiation after 3 hrs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.31 no.10
• /
• pp.2849-2853
• /
• 2010

A method to improve the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide by modification with a sensitizer and a metal oxide is proposed. To achieve this goal, we used metal oxides as dopants. In particular, $CaWO_4$ and $Gd_2O_2S$:Tb were used because their 2.6 eV and 2.2 eV band gap energy and optical properties have a large positive effect on photocatalysis. The improvement in the photocatalytic activity of $TiO_2$ modified with $Gd_2O_2S$:Tb under ultraviolet light irradiation is described in a previous study. The present work focuses on the sensitization of metal oxide-modified $TiO_2$. Having observed the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra of 3,4,9,10-Perylenetetracarboxylic diimide in the wide visible-light region from 400 nm to 650 nm and the broad peaks in its photoluminescence spectra at 695 nm and 717 nm, we decided to use this perylene dye to sensitize modified $TiO_2$ to enhance its activity as a visible-light harvesting photocatalyst. We also explored the positive effects thin-film surface changes stemming from ultraviolet pre-treatment have on photocatalytic activity. Finally, we subjected several metal oxide-modified $TiO_2$ products sensitized by the perylene dye to ultraviolet pre-treatment, obtaining the most active photocatalysts.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.02a
• /
• pp.475-475
• /
• 2013

Cuprous oxide ($Cu_2O$)는 밴드갭이 2.17 eV p-type 산화물 반도체로써 태양에너지 변환기, photocatalysis (광촉매작용), 센서, 스위칭 메모리 등 응용이 다양한 재료이다. 산화물 반도체의 기본 특성은 나노/마이크로 범위 안에서 재료의 표면형태, 크기, 구조와 형상 공간방향등에 크게 영향을 받는다. 그렇기 때문에 원하는 $Cu_2O$ 특성을 얻기 위해서 성장 거동을 아는 것은 매우 중요하다. RF 마그네트론 스퍼터법으로 rod 성장 사례는 잘 알려지지 않았다. 그래서 RF 마그네트론 스퍼터법 $Cu_2O$ rod 형성 실험을 통하여 $Cu_2O$ 형성과 성장 거동을 알아보았다. RF 마그네트론 스퍼터법으로 $Cu_2O$ rod를 glass 기판 위에 Cu metal target을 이용하여 형성시켰다. $Cu_2O$ rod 합성을 위해 기판온도 및 산소분압 O2/(Ar+O2)=3%, 5%, 7% 증착시간 등을 변화시켜 실험하였다. 성장된 rod의 분석은 XRD, SEM으로 확인하였다. 성장 거동은 증착온도와 증착시간에 차이를 보였다. 증착온도 $550^{\circ}C$에서 rod가 생성되는 것을 관찰하였다. 증착시간이 길어질수록 rod 길이가 길어지고 일정 시간이 지나면 rod의 길이 성장보다는 두께(폭)가 성장하는 것을 확인하였다. 증착온도 $550^{\circ}C$ 그리고 산소분압 3%, 5%, 7% 조건에서 rod 합성 실험을 하였을 때 3%, 5% 조건에서 rod의 성장을 확인하였다. 이때 3%, 5% 산소분압에 따라 rod의 모양이 변화하였다. 하지만 7% 조건에서는 rod가 성장하지 않았다. 이유는 3%, 5%에서는 Cu metal peak을 확인하였지만, 7% 조건에서는 Cu metal peak이 없었다. 이로부터 Cu metal이 $Cu_2O$ rod 생성에 영향을 미치는 중요한 요소임을 예상할 수 있었다.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.293-299
• /
• 2004

Transition metal ions doped $TiO_2$ nanostructured powders were prepared with simply heating aqueous $TiOCl_2$ solutions, contained various metal ions (Ni, Al, Fe, Zr, and Nb) of 1.47 mol% added as metal-chlorides, at $100^{\circ}C$ for 4 hrs by homogeneous precipitation process under suppressing conditions of water vaporization. The characterizations for prepared $TiO_2$ powders were carried out to observe doping of metal ions, their concentrations and microstructures using XRD, UV-VIS (DRS), XPS, SEM, TEM and ICP. Also, photo-oxidative abilities were evaluated by decomposition of 4-chlorophenol (4CP) under ultraviolet light irradiations. No secondary oxide phases were formed in all the $VTiO_2$ powders, showing doping with various transition metal ions. When adding ions ($Ni^{2+}$ or$ Al^{3+ }$ and $Zr^{4+}$ ) having valance states or ionic radii greatly different from those of $Ti^{4+}$ , the $TiO_2$ powders of mixed anatase and rutile phases were formed, whereas in the case of additions of $^Fe{3+ }$ and $Nb^{ 5+}$ as well as no addition of metal ion the powders with pure rutile phase alone were formed. Among the prepared $TiO_2$ powders, Ni$^{2+}$ doped $TiO_2$ powders, containing a small amount of anatase phase, showed excellent photo-oxidative ability in 4CP decomposition because of relative decreases in electron-hole recombination and poisoning of $TiO_2$ surface during the photoreaction.n.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.1989-1992
• /
• 2012

We present a low temperature (${\approx}70^{\circ}C$) method to prepare anatase, vertically aligned feather-like $TiO_2$ (VAFT) nanowire arrays $via$ reactive pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. The synthesis method is general, offering a promising strategy for preparing crystalline nanowire metal oxide films for applications including gas sensing, photocatalysis, and 3rd generation photovoltaics. As an example application, anatase nanowire films are grown on fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrates and used as the photoanode in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). AM1.5G power conversion efficiencies for the solar cells made of 1 ${\mu}m$ thick VAFT have reached 0.42%, which compares favorably to solar cells made of the same thickness P25 $TiO_2$ (0.35%).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.2089-2092
• /
• 2007

Tantalum-containing metal oxides, well known for their efficiency in water splitting and H2 production, have never been used in visible light driven photodecomposition of H2S and H2 production. The present work is an attempt in this direction and investigates their efficiency. A mixed metal oxide, ZnFe2Ta2O9, with the inclusion of Fe2O3 to impart color, was prepared by the conventional ceramic route in single- and double-calcinations (represented as ZnFe2Ta2O9-SC and ZnFe2Ta2O9-DC respectively). The XRD characterization shows that both have identical patterns and reveals tetragonal structure to a major extent and a minor contribution of orthorhombic crystalline system. The UV-visible diffuse reflection spectra demonstrate the intense, coherent and wide absorption of visible light by both the catalysts, with absorption edge at 650 nm, giving rise to a band gap of 1.9 eV. Between the two catalysts, however, ZnFe2Ta2O9-DC has greater absorption in almost the entire wavelength region, which accounts for its strong brown coloration than ZnFe2Ta2O9-SC when viewed by the naked eye. In photocatalysis, both catalysts decompose H2S under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm) and produce solar H2 at a much higher rate than previously reported catalysts. Nevertheless, ZnFe2Ta2O9-DC distinguishes itself from ZnFe2Ta2O9-SC by exhibiting a higher efficiency because of its greater light absorption. Altogether, the tantalum-containing mixed metal oxide proves its efficient catalytic role in H2S decomposition and H2 production process also.